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Archived News 2008

 

FRIENDS OF AMTRAK HOME PAGE--For the latest and most recent news on Amtrak and legislation affecting Amtrak please go to the Friends of Amtrak home page. CLICK HERE.

President Obama Selects Ray LaHood As Transportation Secretary-- December 18, 2008

President-Elect Barack Obama has selected Republican Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood as his Transportation Secretary. LaHood is known as a "moderate" Republican who has "broken with his party on Amtrak funding," which means that he has genearally voted in favor of Amtrak funding when others in his party have voted against it. In 2005, he told the <i>Peoria Journal-Star</i> that "we've got a good Amtrak system in Illinois and I don't think we want to destroy it by talking about privatization... The subsidies need to continue. These subsidies are the lifeblood of Amtrak continuing the kind of service they have to the college towns and the small communities in illinois and around the country. I don't see us really tinkering with that." It's also worth mentioning that LaHood is one of the congressmen who's been getting on UP and BNSF's case about railroad-caused delays to Amtrak trains. Quite admirably LaHood has voted YES on increasing Amtrak funding. <i>(Reference: Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act; Bill HR6003; June 11, 2008)</I>

But the record on LaHood, albeit thin, is mixed. For example, a quick search of Google brings up these tidbits of information:

LaHood said he considers Amtrak "the lifeblood transportation for small communities," and he knows many college students from Chicago’s suburbs use trains to travel to school, Copley News Service reported via The Lincoln Courier.
"On the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is fabulous," LaHood added, "and after 9-11, it became the transportation of choice for a lot of people because they felt it was safer than flying.
"I think if we’re going to have a pot of money where we subsidize airlines and we subsidize the funding of highways, that we certainly ought to continue to subsidize Amtrak," LaHood said.
He said, "I don’t think we can afford at this point, with the kind of deficits we’re running," to be talking about high-speed rail.
While funding is his main concern, he said, "People in rural Illinois are not for high-speed rail... They do not want a train traveling 120, 125, 150 miles per hour through the rural areas, and I support them on that."

So how do we read that? Rebuilding America's infrastructure is said to be Obama's number one priority for getting the American economy moving again. Will LaHood be a champion for rebuilding our rail infrastructure, both passenger and freight? Will he vigorously push for building high speed rail corridors and even even dedicated passenger rail lines throughout the country or even in densely populated corridors. Are these dubious statements about protecting small communities from high speed rail merely the cautious words of a politician from Peoria?

For years passenger rail proponents have been fighting the good fight just to keep Amtrak merely sustainable in the face of Bush era policies to bury the railroad altogether. While we succeeded at that quite remarkably we must not be content with band-aid efforts to just keep Amtrak limping along. We want visionary policies from our leaders and courageous bold steps to rebuild our national rail infrastructure, improve air quality, move people more efficiently, reduce congestion and totally reform our transportation priorities. The question we're facing will be, "Is Ray LaHood the guy to do this?"


Obama To Arrive For Inaugural on Amtrak -- December 15, 2008.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama will kick off his inaugural celebration on Jan. 17 ó the weekend before his swearing in as the country's 44th president ó by traveling on a train to the nation's capital. He and his family will start their daylong journey with an event in Philadelphia before boarding the train and picking up Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family in Wilmington, Del. The president-elect and his group then will make a stop in Baltimore before making their way to Washington. Obama will take office Jan. 20.


Amtrak Awaits High Speed Rail Line On D.C.-N.Y. Trip - December 15, 2008

The Washington Times is reporting that federal transportation leaders have announced that the government is seeking contractors to build a $30 billion to $40 billion high-speed rail line between Washington and New York that would be used exclusively by passenger trains. The proposed high-speed rail line will be able to reach the Big Apple in two hours compared with Acela's three hours. The line is the first of a series of nationwide high-speed passenger rail lines that the government is considering funding. Other rail lines would run the length of California and Florida, spread throughout the Midwest with a hub in Chicago, connect Portland, Ore., with Seattle, and run between major cities in Texas.


Amtrak Selects Joseph Boardman As President And CEO - November 25, 2008

WASHINGTON – The National Railroad Passenger Corporation Board of Directors announced today that it has chosen Joseph Boardman, a nationally recognized transportation industry professional, to become president and chief executive officer of the company, effective November 26.

Boardman offers nearly 34 years of experience in the surface transportation industry at city, county, state, and federal government levels; most recently as the administrator at the Federal Railroad Administration.

“In an attempt to maintain the momentum at Amtrak, while finding a permanent CEO candidate, the board has appointed Mr. Boardman for one year, but will conduct a search in the coming months for a permanent CEO,” said Board Chairman Donna McLean.  She added that “Amtrak is at a critical juncture and needs a vigorous management vision and ability to take advantage of this unique time. The board has unanimously chosen Mr. Boardman in this capacity because we have complete confidence that his depth of experience and leadership skills will allow Amtrak to maintain growth and implement the requirements of the recently enacted authorization legislation.”

“Joe Boardman knows the industry extremely well, but what makes him exceptionally qualified for the position is that he has the unique perspective of having known Amtrak as a customer and state partner, administrator, and has been involved with Amtrak, in one role or another, over the course of many years,” said board Vice Chair Hunter Biden. “Joe is the right person to help Amtrak during this important period,” he added.

Having served as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration since April 2005, Boardman was the Department of Transportation designee on the Amtrak board of directors. Prior to his tenure at FRA, he served as commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation beginning in July of 1997. There, Boardman led a transformation effort that better enabled the agency to respond to the challenges associated with an expanding global marketplace. In this capacity, Boardman was deeply involved in the operation of the large complement of Amtrak service in the state. In addition, he was chief operating officer of Progressive Transportation Service, Inc., a transportation management company. He was chairman of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board in 2005 and chair of the American Association of the State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Standing Committee on Rail Transportation from 2000-2005.

“I am humbled that the board selected me to lead the company, on an interim basis, at this very exciting time. Over the past decade — in one capacity or another — I have been an active participant in the affairs of Amtrak. I have come to know the company, the culture, a number of employees, and I am keenly aware of the challenges facing us right now,” said Boardman. “In my view, a national intercity, interconnected passenger rail service is critically important for the mobility and energy independence of the United States.”

Joe Boardman fills the position following the departure of Alex Kummant earlier this month. Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie served as acting CEO in the interim. “The board is grateful to Bill Crosbie for his dedication to Amtrak and for managing the company during the transition,” McLean added.

Boardman is a lifelong resident of New York, and is the second of eight children born and raised on a dairy farm in Oneida County, which two of his siblings currently operate. In 1966, he volunteered for service in the United States Air Force, serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. Upon receiving an honorable discharge from the Air Force, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and a Master of Science in Management Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He presently resides with his wife Joanne in Washington, D.C., and has three grown children.


 

KUMMANT RESIGNS AS AMTRAK CEO - November 14, 2008.

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak CEO Alex Kummant, age 47, with a history of job changes that rival the number of Amtrak station stops, resigned Nov. 14 after barely two years on the job.
There were indications Kummant ran afoul of the Amtrak board of directors, which names the Amtrak CEO without need of Senate confirmation, even though Amtrak is owned by the federal government and receives a nearly $1 billion annual taxpayer subsidy. No further details were provided regarding Kummant’s sudden departure, which had been rumored for the past three weeks.

A source close to the Amtrak board, who asked not to be identified, speculated that Kummant "was not hands on. He didn't have a handle on finances or operations. His personality was often confrontational."

Kummant will be succeeded, on an interim basis, by Amtrak Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie, who is expected to run the national intercity rail passenger company until the Obama administration rejiggers the Amtrak board of directors. It will be the Amtrak board that will choose a permanent successor to Kummant.

Kummant was named Amtrak president in September 2006, after the Amtrak board dispatched David Gunn 10 months earlier. The railroad experience of Gunn’s two predecessors, Tom Downs and George Warrington, was limited to Northeast Corridor commuter operations, but Gunn had extensive freight and passenger operating experience, dating to early management days on the Santa Fe.

Kummant had no railroad operating experience, but did have a short stint as a Union Pacific marketing officer.

Amtrak’s presidents:
Roger Lewis, 1971-1974
Paul Reistrup, 1974-1978
Alan Boyd, 1978-1982
W. Graham Claytor, 1982-1993
Thomas Downs, 1993-1998
George Warrington, 1998-2002
David Gunn, 2002-2005
David Hughes, 2005-2006 (interim)
Alexander Kummant, 2006-2008

 


 

US Senate OKs $13 Billion Amtrak Funding Bill With 74-24 Vote - October 1, 2008

The first Amtrak authorization bill since 1997 passed the U.S. Senate by a large margin, 74 - 24. The bill would provide $13 billion for Amtrak over five years.

Senator John McCain voted NO on the measure. Senator Barack Obama voted YES.

The legislation will "substantially change our federal policy toward passenger rail travel," Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said. President Bush had threatened to veto a previous Amtrak funding bill earlier this year but the overwhelming margin in both chambers is large enough to overcome a veto. The legislation authorizes $2.5 billion a year for Amtrak, almost double its current federal funding level. The money would cover operating and capital expenses, including equipment purchases and railroad repairs. About $1.4 billion would help pay down Amtrak's more than $3 billion in debt. About $1.9 billion would fund a matching-grant program to encourage states to invest in rail expansion and repair. The legislation also contains provisions designed to make Amtrak's management more accountable, such as financial reporting standard, and improve rail safety standards with "new" technology.

The bill requires a technology known as positive train control, or PTC, on passenger trains and certain hazmat rail main lines by 2015. The technology automatically stops trains that run a stop signal and has been used on portions of the Northeast Corridor where Amtrak owns the rail lines. Most rail experts would agree that the Sept. 12 train crash in California that killed 25 people would probably have been avoided had this technology been in operation. In addition, the bill would cap worker shifts at 12 hours and would mandate 10-hour rest periods for train crews and signal employees.

Authorization bills are NOT appropriations, however, and this means that future sessions of Congress must approve budget appropriations each year to actually provide the funding levels in this authorization bill.

SENATE ROLL CALL VOTE: Yea = Pro Amtrak. Nea = Anti-Amtrak

Alphabetical by Senator Name

Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Nay
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Not Voting
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Brownback (R-KS), Nay
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Byrd (D-WV), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
Clinton (D-NY), Yea
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Nay
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Feingold (D-WI), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Nay
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Nay
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wicker (R-MS), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea

All NO votes were cast by Republicans!

 

BUSH EXPECTED TO SIGN AMTRAK AUTHORIZATION BILL - October 3, 2008

President George W. Bush is expected to sign the Amtrak authorization bill that passed both houses of Congress. The legislation calls for higher levels of funding for Amtrak and other passenger-rail services, setting up a broader debate next year over federal transportation spending that highlights differences between the two major candidates seeking to succeed President Bush, who in the past has proposed zeroing out Amtrak.

The White House announcement came Thursday, after the Senate approved the bill by a 74-24 vote. The House passed it last week by a wide margin.

The number of riders on Amtrak, commuter rail and rapid-transit services has soared this year along with gasoline prices, leading Congress to increase federal support. The shift to rail and away from cars will also affect next year's debate on transportation spending. Currently, the federal government spends more than $40 billion annually on highways, roughly $10 billion on mass transit and about $1.4 billion on Amtrak.

The debate over how federal funds are allocated will take place with a new president in the White House. The Amtrak vote offered a preview of how John McCain and Barack Obama would approach the issues relating to America's own infrastructure, transportation and environment.

Senator McCain, the Republican nominee, has been a consistent and leading critic of Amtrak and voted against the funding. Senator Obama, the Democratic candidate who has consistently supported an expansion of passenger rail service, voted for it.

After casting his vote Wednesday Senator Obama, in keeping with his broader calls to invest in roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure, said:
"American businesses and families deserve to have safe, reliable and efficient transportation options," he said. "For far too long, our nation's lack of investment in too many aspects of our infrastructure has undermined that important goal."
In addition, several Democratic leaders say concerns over congestion, pollution and oil consumption should lead to greater spending on passenger-rail service. "We spend more than $40 billion each year on highways...but only a little over $1 billion on rail, and we had to fight tooth and nail to get that," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. "This is going to change."


 

HOUSE//SENATE SUPPORT INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS FOR AMTRAK - July 19, 2008

Both houses, defying the anti-Amtrak obstinacy of the Bush administration, have passed five-year appropriations for the passenger railroad ($15 billion in the House, $11.4 billion in the Senate) which represent not only a substantial increase in funding but a long-term commitment that would allow Amtrak to invest in all the heavy, expensive stuff — both fixed and rolling — required to make a railroad run. The bills are being reconciled by House and Senate conferees, but passage seems certain.

However, appropriations are NOT allocations. Future sessions of Congress would have to actually allocate these funds in each of the five fiscal year budgets. In the past Congress has not always followed through on appropriations.

The crises in highway and air transportation have sent Amtrak ridership soaring, and this year — with a projected 28 million riders — promises to be Amtrak's biggest yet, up 2 million from the year before.

Where Amtrak owns its own rails, train schedules are much more reliable. In the Northeast Corridor, for example, trains are on schedule 76 per cent of the time, while the "Texas Eagle," for most of its route at the mercy of the freight-hauling Union Pacific Railroad, has been in the last year on schedule only 17 per cent of the time. The new appropriation bill makes a feint at this crucial barrier to efficient rail travel by putting investment into easing congestion in 18 of the most-crowded rail corridors. On time performance has been a huge problem for Amtrak and generally speaking the ridership public is unaware of the obstacles that both the aging infrastructure and the private freight railroads present to Amtrak trains.

In every other urban, industrial nation, having a well-rounded passenger transportation system of roads, airways and rails is seen as a no-brainer. The meltdowns at the gas pump and the airport terminal might have finally pushed the reluctant U.S. Congress to pick up its long-overdue responsibilities toward efficient passenger rail.


 

BUSH WANTS AMTRAK FUNDING CUT OF 40 PERCENT - February 9, 2008.

WASHINGTON – Though he has been rebuffed the last three years by Congress, President Bush is again seeking major cuts in funding for Amtrak. Bush’s budget proposal for 2009, which he sent to Congress this week, calls for $800 million for the beleaguered passenger rail service – a 40 percent cut from last year. The proposal now faces a new round of stiff resistance from many in Congress and passenger rail supporters. The cuts would cripple Amtrak.
The 2009 proposed funding level is “inadequate to operate national passenger rail service as it is currently configured,” Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said. Amtrak has lost $480 million per year the last several years, Black said.

In 2006, Congress ignored the administration’s request to cut all of Amtrak’s government funding. And key lawmakers say they plan to again ignore Bush’s request. In the House, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., the transportation committee chairman, will introduce a separate bill to boost Amtrak’s funding above requested levels, committee spokeswoman Mary Kerry said. “The traveling public has embraced passenger rail service as an alternative to high gas prices and airline delays, and that has made Amtrak a critical player in the nation’s multimodal transportation system,” Oberstar said in a statement.

Most of the money in Bush’s proposal would go to maintaining tracks, trains and signals. The budget also calls for Amtrak to become more efficient, requiring Amtrak to reduce financial losses by focusing more on services that make money.

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said the company plans to submit its own budget proposal to Congress later this month.


 

SENATE PASSES AMTRAK REAUTHORIZATION - January 14, 2008.

The U.S. Senate has passed the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) on a 70-22 vote. The bill authorizes Amtrak and establishes teh first federal matching program for states' intercity passenger rail investments. Work on a companion House bill is now underway.


AMTRAK SAYS LABOR TALKS WILL RESUME NEXT WEEK - January 14, 2008.

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak said Friday (Jan. 11) it planned to resume negotiations with nine unions this week to avoid a crippling strike, the Associated Press reported.
The national passenger railroad could face a walkout as early as Jan. 30 unless it reaches an agreement with the unions or Congress intervenes. There has never been a strike at Amtrak, and both Amtrak and union officials say they don't believe it will come to that.

If it did occur, a strike would hamper the operations of many commuter lines that rely on Amtrak infrastructure. Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said talks would resume next week.

"There is some sense of optimism that we'll come to an agreement and avoid a strike," Black said. "Neither side appears to be interested in a shutdown of any portion of the railroad."

The talks affect about 10,000 Amtrak employees, who have been working under outdated contracts since 2000. Under the Railway Labor Act, the workers could not strike until federal officials determined that mediation had been unsuccessful.

An emergency board appointed by President Bush help resolve the dispute sided with the unions on several issues, recommending in a Dec. 30 report that Amtrak provide full back pay to compensate the workers for eight years without a raise and scrap plans for sweeping changes in work rules.

Now the parties are in a 30-day cooling-off period. When it ends Jan. 30, the unions will have the legal right to strike if Congress doesn't step in. In most disputes under the Railway Labor Act that reach this stage, the emergency board report serves as the basis for an agreement.

The unions were pleased with the report, and told Amtrak following its release that they were eager to return to the table.

Amtrak, which depends heavily on federal subsidies, is concerned about how it would afford the back wages, which would average nearly $13,000 per employee. The railroad had offered to give each worker a lump signing bonus of $4,500 instead of back pay.

Black said the back pay would cost Amtrak about $150 million more than what the company had offered.

(The preceding article by Sarah Karush was published January 11, 1008, by the Associated Press.)

 

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